Rich Hayse and Dr. Steve Tempero were elected to their first three-year terms.

Rich Hayse is of legal counsel with the law firm of Morris Laing, Evans, Brock & Kennedy, Chtd. He practices in the areas of business organizations, real estate, professional firms, and public agencies. Rich is married to Linda Hayse.

Dr. Steve Tempero is retired from the Radiology and Nuclear Medicine group in Topeka. He is also a volunteer docent with the Alice C. Sabatini Gallery at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. Steve is married to Joan Tempero.

Returning to the board are Dr. Robert Parman, Michelle Cuevas-Stubblefield, Glenda DuBoise, Marianna Nothern, Steve Page, Julie Schloetzer, and Roger Underwood.

The Library Foundation’s purpose is to help secure resources that support the collections, programs, services, technology and physical facilities of the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. The Foundation pursues this purpose by seeking philanthropic support, by providing conscientious stewardship of the assets in its care, by encouraging appropriate community partnerships, and by advocating on behalf of the library’s mission in our community.

JLT President Stacie Borjon will present the award to The Library Foundation on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 5pm, in the Kids Library. Members of the Junior League, library leaders and The Library Foundation staff will be present. The event is open to the public.

“Junior League has enjoyed a great relationship with the library, and it is such a valued asset to the community. We are so excited about being part of the Kids Library and helping make it the best it can be,” said Stacie Borjon. Competition was tough among the six proposals reviewed, she added.

The Kids Library project is a plan that will transform library space into a learnscape for children and families. Thus far, it had been funded privately through The Library Foundation and the Friends of the Library. The Junior League of Topeka 75^th Anniversary Gift to the Community will fund the installation of large 3D learnscapes to encourage learning, exploration and family time.

Five learnscapes will be added:

• A kid-friendly façade at the entrance of the Kids Library.
• A lighthouse reading nook ideal to share a good book in.
• Children will think school is fun when they play in our school bus.
• Return trips to the library will be a must when a Tyrannosaurus Rex is standing in the nonfiction stacks.
• The salt-water aquarium will be wrapped in the arms of an octopus and coral providing an ocean-like experience in the middle of the Great Plains.

Donor recognition signage will be installed near the redesigned entrance to the Kids Library.

“The library has nearly 40,000 registered cardholders who range in age from birth to 17 years old,” said Marie Pyko, Public Services Director. “These installations will guide children as they grow and go from learning to read to reading to learn. We are grateful the Junior League of Topeka believes in the potential impact of this project as much as we do.”

JLT has partnered with the library on other projects, including the addition of the Adventuremobile, a mobile library for school children and the Girl Culture exhibit, a 2009 exhibit at the Alice C. Sabatini Gallery focused on female self-image.

The Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library is a 21st-century, landmark library, and features the Alice C. Sabatini Gallery, the Millennium Café, Chandler Booktique, meeting rooms, and free computer and Internet access and training.

Gallery hours are the same as library hours: Mon. through Fri. 9 am to 9 pm, Sat. 9 am to 6 pm and Sunday 12 pm to 9 pm.      

The Junior League of Topeka is a non-profit, 501(c) 3, organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving the community. Over the past 75 years, JLT has founded a number of vital community programs in Topeka. The Junior League of Topeka has a membership of around 400 members. Membership is open to all women over 21 years of age living in Topeka and surrounding communities who show an interest in and a commitment to voluntarism.

Eight famous (at least around the library) Reading Education Assistance Dogs, including Waverly, the Labrador-mix who was the model for the sculpture, were in attendance. R.E.A.D. dogs are registered therapy animals who volunteer at the library with their owners on Sunday afternoons (next one is May 6 at 2pm). The bench pays tribute to this program aimed at helping kids gain confidence in their reading skills.

“The library’s been encouraging literacy with the R.E.A.D. dogs program since 2007. We know it’s not always feasible to get to the library for the program, so this bench showcases the sharing of stories by putting kids in the moment. That’s the next best thing to reading to the actual therapy dogs,” said LeAnn Petrie, Youth Services supervisor.

“The child in the sculpture is a beginning reader and her face expresses the wonderment that young children have when sharing a story with a dog, their best friend who loyally listens to all of their stories,” said Steve Page, The Library Foundation Chair.

The bronze work was completed by artists at the Degginger Foundry and funded through a gift to The Library Foundation by Dr. Bob and Frankie Parman, of Topeka.  Dr. Parman is a Foundation trustee and his wife, Frankie, volunteers for The Library Foundation. Planning for the sculpture started in early 2011.

Customers can expect many more exciting developments in the Kids Library in the coming months. To make a gift to help transform the Kids Library into a place for learning and exploration, contact The Library Foundation at 785-580-4498.

The Library Foundation’s purpose is to help secure resources that support the collections, programs, services, technology and physical facilities of the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. The Foundation pursues this purpose by seeking philanthropic support, by providing conscientious stewardship of the assets in its care, by encouraging appropriate community partnerships, and by advocating on behalf of the library’s mission in our community.

We need more books than the library can afford to buy. Joining our Buy a Book Club replenishes our bookshelves and promotes self-directed learning in your community. Donate now.

Your membership makes a difference where it’s needed most. By believing in the value of a great public library, your gift allows the library to purchase new books to keep its offerings current, relevant and available to everyone.

Being a member is something you’ll be proud of – providing more best sellers, more books for children and more eBooks to download. Your gift of at least $35 will put a book in the hand of a child. Join the Buy a Book Club today.

Your gift to The Library Foundation benefits the entire community and helps the library grow the next generation of readers.

Now more than ever, our customers rely on the public library for more than just books. They come to the library for homework help, job hunting assistance and quality family time. Private gifts provide the level of resources necessary to ensure a quality library experience for everyone. Making an investment in your library is a critical part of supporting the library’s mission: Your place. Stories you want, information you need, connections you seek.

Thank you.

WHY INVEST IN THE LIBRARY

• We keep people connected to reading and learning throughout their lifetimes.
• We are committed to providing opportunities so that every child is ready to read by the time they start school.
• We provide transformational experiences for people of all ages and backgrounds.
• Our library is an important community partner.
• We help celebrate and preserve Topeka’s cultural and artistic heritage.
• We ensure that everyone has computer and Internet access at the library.

Call Gwen or Kathy for more information about The Library Foundation, a 501(c)(3)nonprofit organization. 785-580-4498

The library offers programs that everyone can enjoy!

Committed to lifelong learning, the library offers free opportunities to continue your education with our help or on your own. One customer recently observed, “I learn something new every day because of the library.”

Jillian Underwood, library customer, had her first encounter with a computer at the library. She was 7 years old.

“I thought it was so cool. It was early ‘90s and people didn’t really have computers back then, so to come to the library and actually get to use one was a lot of fun,” Jillian said.

Not only did she learn how to use a computer at the library but she was also able to increase her reading comprehension skills by reading during the summers and checking out books at the library.

“My dad would make us read three books or more, depending on how old we were, every summer. I used to hate it, but it eventually paid off,” Jillian said. “I remember taking a reading test and being in the top two percentile, that’s when I realized that all that reading had paid off.”

No matter how old you are we make sure that we provide services for people of all ages.

From borrowing books to attending programs with their children, families remember their positive experiences at the library.

Melissa Powell remembers getting her library card at 8 years old.

“We used to go to the library a lot when we were little. I remember my mom taking us to get our library card,” said Melissa. “I feel like I did grow with the library. I remember reading time and the little cave in the kids’ section where you could go and read.”

During her high school years Melissa used the library to find more sources for homework assigned to her. Today she uses the library as a resource for her babysitting job and to find sources for her college homework.

“I’ve also taken seminars that dealt with early childhood education, which helped me with my babysitting job,” said Melissa. “I’ve seen the changes that the library has made and it has changed for the better.”

We continue growing with you with our Red Carpet Services that provide materials to accommodate people with low vision and other special needs.

We provide activites that are entertaining to both children and adults.

These days people need the library more than ever. According to the 2010 United States Census there are 177, 934 people who live in Shawnee County. Of those, 94,579 have library cards. Every day we see more than 3,000 children and adults use and enjoy the library after school or after work hours.

“I recently got my library card and I love it,” said Hilary Larson, library customer. “I am not from here, and I heard about the library through a friend. I’ve only had my card for a month, and I have already visited the library three times.”

With accessible computers for everyone, the library is the ideal place for students to do their homework. It is also the perfect way for people to find a job and for everyone to have a good time and enjoy everything that the library offers. The library gives you many reasons for affirming the value it adds to our community.

“I will definitely recommend the library to my friends. It has such variety and it has such a friendly staff,” said Larson.

Steve Page, Board Chair of The Library Foundation has been a library cardholder for over 45 years. Steve got his library card soon after he became a part-time employee at the library when he was teenager.

“I think that the library is a storehouse of knowledge. It provides interesting classes for everyone and great a geology center for those who want to find out more about their family. It is just the closest thing we have in Topeka to a true community center,” Steve added.

The Overson-Campbell Homework Center is a place where students can come and get assistance with their homework

Our stewardship is based on close attention to your priorities. The library and The Library Foundation react swiftly to emerging trends and economic challenges. A top priority for the library is to have activities for people of all ages. One example is the Edge, which is dedicated to teens where they can play video games, do homework or just hang out with friends.

Our volunteer board of trustees helps raise funds and monitors both the Foundation’s investments and distributions.

With funds raised, we provide the best services that are needed by the community. Services such as AdventureMobile that take children into a learning adventure and bookmobile which makes it easier for citizens across the city to borrow books without having to drive to the library.

We also pay attention by having computer classes for those who need help from taming your mouse to creating a Facebook page, using social media and your iPad.

The library also knows how hard it is to find a job these days. That’s why donors helped launch the Jobs and Careers Neighborhood, where it’s easier than ever to learn about the different ways to find a job.

We make it easy for people to have access to technology, that is why we provide Internet and computer use for everyone. We also provide free printing for students using the Overson-Campbell Homework Center.

We are your library, we care and pay attention to your needs. To learn more on how you can help the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library contact Kathy Groesbeck at 580-4493 or Gwen Stanley at 580-4498 at The Library Foundation. You can also visit the donation’s page at https://donations.tscpl.org/.

We’re well into Kansas summer with its inescapable geographic beauty, so for week 26 of our Kansas sesquicentennial video series we’re honoring the memories of renowned Kansas landscape artist, Robert Sudlow (1920-2010) and one of his most devoted patrons and generous TSCPL benefactor, Horace Eubank (1918-2005).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCdNTgZZojQ

About 52 for 150

Every object has a story, and stories build history. To celebrate 150 years of Kansas statehood we’re featuring 52 objects (or collections of related objects)—something new each week throughout the year—from the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library’s 130-year-old special, and permanent collections, that represent our collective state history and cultural diversity.

Our collections are available for teachers, students, researchers and general interest, and we hope this online video program will provide insight into what’s so “special” about Special Collections. Your library’s commitment to collecting art and preserving local history makes it possible for users today and in the future to have immediate access to invaluable research material and cultural artifacts.

To make an appointment to see work by Robert Sudlow, call or stop by the Sabatini Gallery (785-580-4515). We’re located on your right just beyond the Library rotunda entrance.

John Mendoza, Former Library Foundation Trustee

Years later, Mendoza joined the board of trustees for the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library.

“The idea that we were being creative, had a vision for the library, and for the future, was my favorite part about being involved,” Mendoza said.

He participated during the expansion of the library and the Great Expectations Campaign, which helped raise $4.2 million in 2002. He closely monitored the building process through meetings with the construction firm.

In 2005, he joined The Library Foundation Board of Trustees and helped raise funds for the library.
Mendoza’s vision was for the library to become a focal point of pride within the city. He noted creative partnerships such as the farmers market, which now takes place on Mondays from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

He said that a partnership with public schools and Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library would also be helpful for the community.
Mendoza said that it would be a benefit for the community if the library worked with city transit to make it easier for those who don’t have transportation.

“I remember as a child I would have to ride my bike to the library because that was the only form of transportation I had,” Mendoza said.

He recommends publicizing all the programs that the library offers in a way where citizens can see what their tax dollars and their donations are accomplishing. He emphasized that the library needs to publicize services that are being offered and to inform people why charitable gifts are needed.

“The library could become obsolete unless there are donations. At some point of time, inflation might overtake whatever money is there,” Mendoza said.

“I enjoyed my time at the library,” Mendoza said. “All we need is greater public awareness.”